Securing your environment. A Guide to Windows application white listing. Are you tired of constantly looking for malware on your computer? Do you wish you had more control over what runs on your Windows system? Let's talk about application White listing, a proactive strategy that blocks everything except trusted software. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to Ninja One's IT Video Hub for more tech content like this. How does Windows application whitelisting work at its core application? Whitelisting operates on a deny all, allow some principle, meaning it blocks all applications by default, unless they're included in a trusted list. To create your trusted list, you can either use Windows Defender Application Control, or Microsoft App Blocker. WDAC uses code integrity policies as its primary criteria for identifying trusted applications, whereas App blocker filters software based on factors like publisher identity, file paths, and file hashes. How to prepare your system for Windows application white listing. Here's how you can prepare your window system for application white listing. First, create an inventory of all the applications your network needs. Next, audit your applications and determine which may be blocked. This step will help you refine your trusted list. Finally, implement your white listing policies using your tool of choice and update them as needed. Common issues with Windows application white listing. Check if your system mistakenly blocks a legitimate application. You should verify your white list, check its rule configurations, and review your system logs for errors to ensure proper enforcement. Make sure you're using the right deployment method. This could be through the SCCM or the GPO. You should also check for policy conflicts within your group policies. Add secondary components like Dynamic Link libraries, DLLs and scripts into your white list so that your system won't block them. Windows application whitelisting mitigates the risk of cyber attacks by preemptively blocking, malicious, or unauthorized software from running. For more information, check out our official blog post on Windows application whitelisting linked in the description below.